JFD1

Some of you have enjoyed poking fun with my little screw-up in Geraldine. Well, I’m glad for you!

Elaine has been paid and all is good. It’s true, the night I was in Geraldine, I visited a local pub and met a few local Kiwi’s. There was a cricket game on TV (just like every night), and I asked them about how the game was played.

Well, you see I learned that night that a cricket game can go on for days and it takes nearly as long for it to be explained, especially when all are enjoying the products of the pub. We all had a heap of fun (local jargon), but all the fun caused me to be moving and thinking a little slow the next morning.

It wasn’t just leaving the hotel without paying, I also went the wrong way when I got on the road. By noon, after figuring out my mistake, turning around and making my way back, I was only 15 miles from where I started.

So, I found a pub that had satellite, found the Viking game (it aired here live at 12:40 p.m. on Monday) and sat down with the owner and we watched. The owner of the pub was a great guy who ended up introducing me to a fishing guide. It was decided that I would stay in town for the night and then to go out fly fishing for trout the next morning with Mike, my new fishing buddy.

Mike is a suoer guy and was great fun. I am really glad I stuck around. As it ended up, he and his wife June invited me to stay for a native Kiwi dinner.

I was a little apprehensive as I was informed that we were going to have sheep! Christ, I can’t tell you how many sheep I’ve seen in the last two weeks and now I was going to be eating one! You know that there are more sheep here then there are people? No one will ever starve here.

Anyway, June prepared one magnificent meal. Sheep Roast, roasted potatoes and pumpkin, fresh veggies from her garden including beans, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower, carrots and then…homemade gravy! To top it off, a magnificent hot bread and syrup pudding for dessert.

I am really grateful for all the mistakes I made because it all lead to me meeting some great people and experiencing some great hospitality.